Category Archives: International issues

For Obama, if you’re male and near a terrorist, that makes you guilty. So die.

From a New York Times article about the US’s killer drone program: Mr. Obama embraced a disputed method for counting civilian casualties that did little to box him in. It in effect counts all military-age males in a strike zone … Continue reading

Posted in International issues, Sexism hurts men | 10 Comments

The One Article You Must Read Today

From Peter Sagal of “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” fame. It isn’t particularly funny: The first soldier was in bed, surrounded by six members of his family, including  his fiance, who was slumped over asleep. His left foot was missing, and … Continue reading

Posted in Afghanistan | 22 Comments

Is Mitt Romney unusually stupid?

I’ve been assuming that Romney is pretty sharp. But now I’m wondering. From Romney’s big Iran op-ed in the Washington Post. Until Iran ceases its nuclear-bomb program, I will press for ever-tightening sanctions, acting with other countries if we can … Continue reading

Posted in Elections and politics, In the news, Iran | 10 Comments

“The Duality of Life in Iran” – from Tehran Bureau

In The Duality of Life in Iran, Tehran Bureau’s Correspondent at Large writes the following: Life in Iran is split in halves: the half lived in the open and the half lived behind closed doors. And this duality goes deep: … Continue reading

Posted in Iran | 3 Comments

The Teller of Tales is Reviewed by Aria Fani on Tehran Bureau

Aria Fani has published on Tehran Bureau a review of my book, The Teller of Tales, which is a translation of the first five stories of Shahnameh, The Book of Kings, also known as the Persian (or Iranian) national epic. … Continue reading

Posted in Iran, Writing | Comments Off on The Teller of Tales is Reviewed by Aria Fani on Tehran Bureau

I am a Translator of Classical Iranian Poetry. Or Maybe I’m Not.

So I found out yesterday that I was not elected secretary of my union. I ran not because I was eager to get into union work per se, but because there is serious work that needs to be done on … Continue reading

Posted in Iran, Writing | 6 Comments

So This Is Really Spooky

When I was in yeshiva, our tenth grade gemara teacher was Rabbi Wehl, and he would often take time in class to talk to us about Israel and how important it was to the Jewish people, how miraculous its very … Continue reading

Posted in Palestine & Israel | 3 Comments

Saudi Women Granted The Right To Vote And To Run For Office

From The New York Times: King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on Sunday granted women the right to vote and run in future municipal elections, the biggest change in a decade for women in a puritanical kingdom that practices strict separation … Continue reading

Posted in crossposted on TADA, Feminism, sexism, etc, International issues | Comments Off on Saudi Women Granted The Right To Vote And To Run For Office

Avant-Garde Theater in Iran – Art as Politics, The Politics of Art

To say that art is always political, even when it is not obviously politically engaged, is a truism often used by artists who don’t want to do the difficult work of figuring out, or owning up to, the (usually conservative, … Continue reading

Posted in Iran | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

From “Making Sense Of Libya,” and other Libya links

I’d really recommend reading the International Crisis Group’s briefing on Libya (or at least read the executive summary, which is only three pages long). (pdf link) It has a lot of interesting background to the current conflict. Here’s a brief … Continue reading

Posted in crossposted on TADA, International issues | 2 Comments